Sustainability: EPD and Life Cycle Project for Brazilian natural stones

Representatives of the main organizations in the natural stone industry – Centrorochas, the Brazilian Center of  Natural Stones Exporters, Sindirochas [Association of Natural Stone, Lime, and Limestone Companies], and Cetemag [Technological Center of Marble and Granite] – met with IFES – Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Espírito Santo [Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology in the state of Espírito Santo] today, in the city of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, aiming to monitor the development of the EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) and Life Cycle project for Brazilian materials. The meeting prioritized updates on the status of the projects that were commissioned from the Federal Institute by Centrorochas and have support from Sindirochas and Cetemag.

The market holds high expectations for the results of these projects, as they will provide a comprehensive understanding of the environmental impacts of Brazilian natural stones, associating the entire life cycle (extraction, processing, and products), besides improving the sustainability and competitiveness of the national industry.

The IFES team will begin the data collection stage of the work, which is currently in its initial phase. The entire project is expected to be completed in about two years. The meeting was attended by Tales Machado, Fabio Cruz, and Giovanni Francischetto, from Centrorochas; Ed Martins and Celmo de Freitas, from Sindirochas; and Marcel Fiório, representing Cetemag.